Capping machine



March 4, 1930.

A. l. RISSER CAPPING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 4, 1930. A. l. RISSER CAPPLNG MACHINE Filed April 25, 1928 3 Sheet's-Sheet 2 .SULAT/ON e a my d A. l. RlssER 1,748,960

CAPPING MACHINE Filed April v25, 19278 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 4, 1930.

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Patented vMar. 4, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFEIcE ARTHUR I. RISSEB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T U. S. IBOTTLERS MACHINERY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS cA-:PPING MACHINE Application iiled ApriI 25,\1928. Serial No. 272,634.

My present invention relates to machines for capping screw-threaded bottles, jars, and the like, automatically and aims to provlde an appliance of this kind which will operate l satisfactorily and eiiciently and whlch will discharge any of the caps for which the bottle or jar or its equivalent is not provided.

To enable those skilled in this 'art to have a full understanding of the invention, from both structural and'functional standpoints, in the accompanying drawings, formlng a part of this s ecification, I- have illustrated a present pre erred embodiment of themvention, like reference characters being used throughout the several vlews to deslgnate the same parts. In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical, central section through the machine on line 1-,1 of Figure 2 Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 2 2 of Figure 1; i

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic v1ew of a por- -tion of the mechanism;

Figure 4 illustrates the electrlcal contact structure and constitutes a fragmentary section on line 4 4 of Figure 5; and

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show a portion ofthe appliance in its diEerent pos1t1ons during thecapping operation.

Referrin to these several views of the drawings, 1t will be apparent that the appliance includes an upright revoluble shaft 10 and its stationary extension 11 supported in bearings 12, 13, shaft 1() being revolved by a drive-shaft 14 through bevel-gears 15, 16 and carrying a round support 17 provided with a plurality (8 in the present Instance?x of semi-circular recesses or pockets 18 eac adapted to accommodatea bottle or' the like 19 having a threaded neck 21 deslgned to receive a correspondingly threaded cap 34. The machine incorporates also a shorter, vertical shaft 22 supported inside of a sleeve 33 by a bearing 23 and rotated from shaft 14, in proper timed relation t o the other parts of the mechanism, by a pa1r ofsprock et-wheels 24, 24, a cooperatlng chain 25, a second shaft 26, and coacting bevel-gears 27 28.

t its upper end, the constantly-revolving shaft 22 has eight, radiating arms 29, 29 terminating in sultable curved ends 31 adapted to slide the caps 34 individually in a curved path over the top of a stationary table or ledge 32 mounted on the upper end of sleeve 33, the'caps being delivered to the top surface of such able, shelf or support 1n sequence, right'side up, from a chute 35 asso ciated with a suitable source of supply, the

arms sweeping the caps along until they are removed by other described hereinafter.

Upright shaft 10 has a vspider 39 pinned thereon and rotatable therewith, and having eight pairs of aligned, upright bearings 40, 41, each accommodating a rotating, slidable shaft 42 fitted with and slidable through a pinion 43 located between the spider 39 proper and an upper member 45 which affords the bearing 41.

The eight pinions mesh with a stationary large gear 44 so that as the pinions travel around such gear they are revolved about their own axes.

Each shaft 42 and its hollow extension shaft 54 are suplied with'a bearing member 46 mounted on the lower end of a slide 47 ar ranged to reciprocate on the spider and equlpped with an operating roller 48 located between a pair of stationary, cam bars 49 and 51 on supports 52 depending from a spider 53.

Shaft 54, into the upper end of which the lower end of shaft 42 is screwed, as shown in Figure 5, carries a lower head or disc forming one element of an appropriate friction-clutch, having a suitable friction disc 56 between and under face of the part 55 and parts of the machine .the top fiat surface of a skeleton member 57 having an electro-magnet shell 58 fixed in any approved manner in its lower end.

In order to hold such magnet and its companion parts down in their work, a coiled spring 59 encircles the shaft 54 and presses at its upper end against a ball-bearing 60 below the member 46 and bears at its other end indirectly against the head 55, the descent of the related parts being limited by a collar 142 designed, when the shafts have reached their lowermost limit, to engage a ball-bearing 160 just above the element 46, it being understood that the shaft 54 is slidable in both such anti-friction bearings.

The lower opening 61 of the magnet casing 58 has a ring 62 fixed therein and having a central, arin mouth with a roughened or corrugated, wal whereby it may securely and {irml grasp the cap during its application to t e bottle-neck.

The magnet 158 has a slidable core 63 normally pressed down by a springV 64 inserted between a disc 65 engaging the bottom end of shaft 54 and an enlargement 66 on the core, the descent of the latter being limited or restricted by an enlargement 67 adapted to bear on the upper face of ring 62.

One end of the wire of magnet 158 is grounded onto its casing or shell at 68 and the other end is electrically connected to a contact-ring' 69, mounted on, -but insulated from, the magnet shell, and cooperating with a spring contact 71 bearing on its edge and electrically connected at its upper end to a contact-ring 72 on an insulation disc 73 on the top of head 55.

A telescopic, spring-extensible contact 74 insulated in any approved manner is mounted on the member 46 and at its upper end it is provided with a leaf contact spring 75 adapted to cooperate with a contact 77 mounted on insulation 76 secured to the under surface of the lower cam bar 49.

The operation of the appliance occurs practically as follows Assuming that by hand, or by suitable automatic feeding means, the uncapped bottles are delivered into the compartments of the support 17 and are revolved thereby around the axis of shaft 10 at a uniform uninterrupted speed, and that shaft 22 and its arms 29 are feeding the caps on the table or shelf in the manner stated, and that the spider 39 is also revolving, maintaining'the cappinglieads in register with the bottles beneath them, such heads rotating constantly about their own axes, when any particular cap during its sliding travel on the support 82 comes into register with the corresponding bottle, which passes beneath the cap table, as shown in Figure 1, the magnet will have been energized by the contact brush 7 5 having slid onto the contact strip or bar 77 and the corresponding capping-head will have been caused to descend by the cam bars to it over the cap, as indicated in Figure 3.

The core of the magnet attracts and holds the cap, and as the capping-head during its unvarying rotation about the axis of shaft 10 sweeps such cap from its support, the cap is held suspended in the head by reason of the action of the magnet thereon.

Shortly thereafter, the revolving cappinghead and its cap move down by reason of the action of the cam-bars on the roller of such head and apply the cap to the screw-threaded amaca() neck of the bottle beneath the spring 59 being somewhat compressed and the core of the magnet receding into the latter, as portrayed 1n Figure 7, whereby the cap may be forcefully revolved about its own axis by the ring 62 to screw it firmly on the neck.

As soon as the cap is screwed fully home on the neck, so that it cannot turn any more, suiicient resistance to such turning will have been created to cause the friction-clutch 55, 56, 57 to slip, thus avoiding an excessive action on the cap.

Then as the parts continue their steady rotation about'the axis of shaft 10, the capping-head rises due to the cooperation of the cam-bars and roller and the Contact 75 runs olf of the end of the stationary contact bar 77.

Of course, there are several bottles undergoing simultaneously diiferent phases of the capping operation, so that the machine not only performs its work efficiently, but it also has a high capacity.

In case any bottle cavity on the rotating support 17 does not receive its bottle, the correlated cap will be held by the magnet in its head until the magnet is deenergized by the contact brush 75 leaving the companion bar 77, whereupon, the cap being no longer held by the magnet will drop out of the head, so that the latter will be ready to receive another cap at the proper moment.

I claim:

1. In a capping-machine, the.v combination of a stationary table, a revoluble support adapted to receive a plurality of screwthreaded containers, a corresponding number of capping-heads on said support above, in register with, and slidable toward and from said containers, means to revolve said support continuously to carry said containers in sequence beneath, and their corresponding capping-heads above, said table, means to rotate said capping-heads continuously about their own axes, means to slide said capping-heads toward and from their companlon containers, means to feed screwthreaded caps onto said table, constantly-acting means to slide said caps on said table individually into register with said cappingheads as the latter pass over said table, an electro-magnet in each of said heads, a yieldable magnetic core in each o f said magnets to retain the cap in the corresponding cappinghead during its travel after it leaves the table until it descends to the container, means to control the electric circuits of said magnets, and means in each said head to grasp its cap sufficiently firmly to screw it on the corresponding container.

2. In a capping-machine. the combination of a stationary table, a revoluble support adapted to receive a screw-threaded container, a capping-head on said support above,

in register with, and slidable toward and from said container, means to revolve said meaeeo support to carry said container beneath, and said capping-head above, said table, means to rotate said capping-head about its own axis, means to slide said capping-head toward and from said container, means to feed a screw-threaded cap onto said table, means to slide said cap on said table into register with said capping-head as 'the latter passes over said table, an electro-magnet in said head, a yieldable magnetic core in said magnet to re-A tain the cap 1n said capping-head during its travel after it leaves the table until it descends to the container, means to control the electric circuit of said magnet, and means in said head to grasp its cap suiciently 'firmly to screw it on the corresponding container.

3. In a cappingmachine,'the combination of a stationary table, a revoluble support adapted to receive a screw-threaded container, a capping-head on said support above, in register with, and slidable toward and from said container, means to revolve said support to carry said container beneath, and said capping-head' above, said table, means to rotate said capping-head about its own axis, means to sllde said capping-head toward and from said container, means to feed a screw-threaded cap onto said table into register with said capping-head as the latter passes over said table, electro-magnetic means in said head to retain the cap therein during its travel after it leaves the table until it descends to the container, means to control the electric circuit of said electro-magnetic means, and means in said head to grasp its cap suiiciently firmly to screw it on the corresponding container.

4. In a capping-machine, the combination of a stationary table, a revoluble support adapted to receive a screw-threaded container, a capping-head on said support above, in register wit and slidable toward and from said container, means to revolve said support to carry said container beneath, and sa1d cappmg-head above, said table, means to rotate sa1d capping-head about its axis, means toY slide said capping-head toward and from said container, means to' feed a screw-threaded cap onto said table in register with said capping-head as the latter .passes over said table, means recedable in said capping-head to retain the cap in said capping-head during its travel after it leaves the table until it descends to the container, and means in said head to grasp its cap suiiciently firmly to screw it on the corresponding container, said recedable means automatically retreating in said capping-head during such cap screwing operation.

' 5. In acapping-machine, the combination of a cap-supportmg table, a revolublesupportadapte to recelve a screw-threaded container, a cappin -head on said support above, in register wit and slidable toward and from said container, means to revolve said -port until it descends to the container, and

means in said head to grasp its cap sufficiently firmly to screw it on the corresponding container, said recedable means automatically retreating in said capping-head during such cap screwing operation.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand. ARTHUR I. RISSER. 

